If Cars Could Talk
by August08
Summary: When a witch's curse seems to backfire, Dean is suddenly left without his beloved Impala. Believing the curse has something to do with it, Dean sets out with a personal vendetta against the witches. However, during the search, he is reunited with his treasured car again...but not in the way that he had expected.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : This story was actually inspired by my own car. Yes, I know, how can an inanimate object be inspiration? Well, I've had so many unusual conversations in my car, that I've often wondered what it would say about me if it could talk. I love my car just as Dean loves the Impala. But, anyway, I'm rambling. I'll let you get to the story. Reviews and constructive criticism is always appreciated, but no flames. Negativity never helps anything. If you don't like the story, don't read it. But, to those who wish to join me on this crazy little adventure, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing associated with Supernatural.

Takes place roughly in the season eight time period.

* * *

She had been there since day one. She had been the work horse, the chauffeur, the hotel on dark and lonely nights. She had been a part of the Winchester family ever since John drove her off the lot. She had been there when Mary was killed, carried John and his sons around the States as he hunted down the monster that killed his wife. She had watched the boys grow up into strong young men. She loved those kids, and when John handed her keys over to Dean before heading off on his own to hunt, she couldn't wait to get started on a new adventure.

The road had been a trying one for the Winchester brothers. But, she had stuck with them through thick and thin. When they needed a safe haven, she was there. When they hurt, she hurt. Hell, she had a semi slam into her which almost took her and the Winchesters out. However, she was just a car. She couldn't do much other than sit wherever she was parked and listen to her boys yell and scream at each other when something bad happened.

Sometimes she wished she had a voice, then she could comfort her boys when they needed it. To tell them that she was there, that she would always be there, even when they hurt her. She had forgiven Dean for beating her with a crowbar after John died, but she had been shocked when he had done it. Dean had never done anything to hurt her before, what did she do to deserve such treatment?

But, she was just a car. A cold, voiceless piece of metal only good for carrying her boys around when they caught wind of hunting cases. She often wondered what it would be like to talk, to be able to voice her thoughts and feelings, and actually talk to the men she had grown to love. What would she say? Oh, the stories she could tell.

She woke up when her two front doors opened and her boys climbed into the front seat. Dean put the key in the ignition and her engine roared to life. He pulled out of the parking lot of the motel and headed out into traffic.

"You sure it's them?" Dean asked as he drove.

"Positive," Sam replied. "We might actually be able to put this coven out of business."

"I hope so," Dean said. "We've been after these witches for weeks. I'm ready to put this hunt behind us."

She went where Dean directed her. Soon she was leaving the comforts of the small town and was heading to the outskirts. With Dean's guidance, she rumbled over a dirt road towards an old abandoned house. However, for a house that was supposed to be abandoned, it looked like it was in half decent shape. Dean turned off the engine and opened the door. This was the hardest part. The waiting. She wished she could join them, walk beside them as they went on their hunt. But, she was cursed to be forever left behind as her boys put themselves in the line of danger.

She watched as her boys disappeared inside the house; hoping that they would return to her in one piece.

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	2. Chapter 2

Wooden floor boards creaked loudly under careful footsteps. Dean cursed silently under his breath. The witches would hear them coming and have time to escape. He held his pistol out in front of him, gun loaded with witch killing bullets. They seriously needed to find a better name for them. Dean looked around the corner into a side parlor. Something should have jumped out at them by now. Sam came up behind him, his own gun trained up front. The brothers continued their search, coming up empty at every turn. Dean was beginning to suspect that the witches had high tailed it out before they even got there.

"You sure this is the right place?" he whispered.

"I'm pretty sure," Sam whispered back.

"You stay down here, I'll go upstairs," Dean said.

Sam nodded and they split up. Dean crept up the rotting staircase. He could hear Sam move around down below. The eldest Winchester reached the top floor, gun swinging around looking for something to shoot. He peeked around the corner into the first room. Nothing but an old bed and the remains of a bedroom set. The second room, same thing. Dean growled in annoyance. There was no one here. The witches were gone. And so the hunt continued.

"Dean!" Sam suddenly cried out.

Dean hurried back down the hall and over the stairs as fast as he could. "Sam?" he called out.

"Dean!"

Dean ran through the house until he came to the sunroom. He stopped short in the doorway. Sam was on the floor, writhing and coughing up blood. Dean looked from his brother to the person at the other end of the room. She was just standing there, watching his brother die.

"Hello, Dean Winchester," the woman greeted in an even tone. "We meet at last."

"Let my brother go, witch," Dean growled, aiming his gun.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" the woman asked in amusement.

She waved her hand as she mumbled a Latin word. The gun went flying out of Dean's hands. The woman tutted as if she were talking to a naughty child.

"Did you honestly expect me to just let you kill me?" she asked, walking over to where Dean was standing. "Now, you're here, and your weapon is all the way over there. With me between you and it."

Dean stood his ground. "Where are the others?" he demanded.

"Why? So you can kill them too?" the woman asked.

"Sooner or later, you're all gonna die," Dean promised. "So, release my brother, and I'll make yours swift and painless."

His eyes drifted upward and he noticed a security camera. What would an abandoned house be doing with security cameras? Dean smirked. He pointed up at the camera.

"Friends keeping an eye out?" he asked.

The woman looked over her shoulder for a moment but was blindsided when Dean slammed his fist into her stomach. She crumpled to the floor. Dean ran for his gun. The witch yelled out in Latin and Dean stopped dead in his tracks, as though his feet were suddenly glued to the floor. He grunted as he tried to move.

"Hitting a lady when she's not looking? That's not very manly," the woman commented as she got to her feet.

Dean knelt down and reached for the gun. His fingers just brushed the hilt. He could hear the woman approaching, as well as Sam's hacking. Neither one was doing his already frayed nerves any good.

"Now, you die, Winchesters," the woman said, beginning a chant.

A hot wave of nausea swept through his body. Dean began to hack up blood as his insides began to boil. His fingers wrapped around the gun. With great effort, he turned around as much as he could and fired. The woman stumbled back in surprise, eyes wide. Sam gasped as his hacking stopped. The spell holding Dean in place lifted and he was able to move again. The woman collapsed to the floor, lifeless. Dean walked up and looked down at her, spitting the rest of the blood out of his mouth before wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"I shouldn't have done that," he said.

Sam struggled to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth. "You're kidding, right?"

"We don't know where the others are, Sam," Dean reminded him.

Sam walked up to his brother. "I wonder how high up she was," he mused.

"Doesn't matter, either way. She's dead and we're not," Dean said.

"Go, team," Sam stated.

Something suddenly sparked within the room. The brothers looked around for the source of the spark.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. A voice sounded from out of thin air.

"You took something special from us, Dean Winchester," the voice said. "She was our chosen. She was going to kill you two."

"Then, why is she dead and not us?" Dean asked the disembodied voice.

Several voices began to chant. Sam and Dean glanced at each other in confusion. Then, slowly, Dean's face began to twist in pain. He gripped his shirt above his chest, gasping for breath.

"Dean?" Sam asked as his brother collapsed. "Dean!"

Dean gasped for breath as whatever had a hold on him suddenly let go. The voices stopped chanting.

"For taking our chosen, you will watch as the thing you love most be taken from this world," the voices yelled.

He coughed harshly. Sam slapped him on the back. Dean swatted his brother's hand away. He pushed himself to his feet and fixed his shirt.

"That was uncomfortable," Dean grunted.

Sam looked around but couldn't see anything. "Whatever spell that was seemed to have backfired," he commented. "They didn't even finish their spell."

Dean grimaced in disgust. "Let's go home. This hunt was a bust."

"Sorry, Dean," Sam apologized as they headed for the front door.

He brought up short in Dean's back, almost knocking his brother over. Sam was about to protest when he noticed something was missing. And by the way Dean was shaking in rage, Sam knew Dean saw it too.

"Where's my car?" Dean demanded.

"Uh..." Sam stammered, suddenly very afraid.

"Dude, what the hell?! Where's my car?!" Dean yelled. "Someone stole my car!"

"Dean, calm down," Sam said.

Dean whirled on his brother. "Don't tell me to calm down! I am calm!"

Sam held up his hands and backed away. Dean stormed around the property looking for the Impala. Sam stayed where he was standing. No one came between Dean and the Impala. Mess with the Impala and you had the full wrath of Dean Winchester coming down on your head. Sam knew that better than anyone. He turned to see Dean come stalking around the corner of the house. Sam could practically see the smoke coming out of his brother's ears.

"I'm gonna put a bullet in the brain of the wiseass who stole my car," Dean cursed.

Sam sighed, seeing no other option. "I guess we start walkin'," he said.

The brothers began the long trek back to town. Dean continued to grumble and curse. Sam couldn't blame his brother for being upset. The Impala was his baby. Their Dad had entrusted her care to Dean before he set off on his own to hunt. The car had been Dean's rite of passage from trainee to full on hunter. She was his pride and joy.

Sam looked up at the starry sky. If someone did end up stealing the car, he wanted to be there when Dean found them. Sam couldn't help but grin. That would be a sight to see.

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	3. Chapter 3

It took the better part of the night, but they finally walked in through the door of their motel room. Dean had grown quiet, which was never a good thing. Sam knew he needed to keep his distance for a while. Dean tossed the room key on the table and sat down at Sam's laptop, typing in the password and diving head first into new research. Sam decided to take the down time to sit back and watch some TV. Dean, for once, was doing all the work, so Sam took the opportunity to sit back and relax. He grabbed the remote, switched on the television and sat back on the bed.

Every now and then, Sam would look over at his brother to see if Dean was doing okay. Dean was still hunched over the computer, eyes glaring at the screen. No doubt he was still mentally cursing the asshole who stole his car. Sam sighed and settled back against the pillows, his attention going back to the show that was playing. After a while, his eyes began to grow heavy, so he turned off the TV and got ready for bed. Dean had fallen asleep at the computer, but Sam was still too nervous to draw attention to himself.

The youngest Winchester brushed his teeth and got dressed in his pajamas before crawling into bed. He settled underneath the covers and switched off the lamp. The room was cast in semi-darkness. The light of the moon filtered in through the window. Soon, all that filled the room was the steady breathing of both brothers. Dean winced in his sleep, his hand going to his chest and clenching his shirt. He began gasping for breath. Sam woke up to the sound of something hitting the floor. He bolted up in bed to see Dean writhing on the floor.

"Dean!" Sam cried, shooting out of bed. He rushed to his brother's side. "Dean!"

Dean's body twisted and jerked, his breath coming out in strangled gasps as though he was choking on his own breath. Sam put a hand to Dean's cheek but pulled away immediately afterwards. His brother's skin was scorching hot. Sam got to his feet and grabbed his cell phone. He dialled 911 and listened to the rings.

"911. What's your emergency?" a woman's voice sounded on the other end.

"I think my brother is having a seizure," Sam blurted out.

Dean choked and gasped, his body twisting as if something was trying to get out. He could hear Sam's voice off in the distance, but couldn't make out what he was saying. He wasn't in control of his body, something had a grip on him. His chest burned, his innards were boiling. He fought to say something-anything. But, everything he tried to say just came out a choking gasp for air.

"Dean, hang on," Sam was saying. "Paramedics are on their way. Just hang on a bit longer."

The world began to fade. Everything went numb. Dean let out a long, low sigh.

"Dean? Dean!"

* * *

The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the only thing that told Sam his brother was still alive. He sat by Dean's bedside, staring at his comatose sibling. The life support image all too familiar to him. What the hell happened? Sam looked up when he heard the soft rustling of wings.

"Cas?" he breathed.

"I heard your prayer," Castiel said, stepping up to the bed. "What happened?"

Sam looked back down at Dean. He hadn't even realized he had been praying. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I went to bed as usual, Dean was asleep at the computer, and the next thing I know he's seizing on the floor."

Castiel put a hand on Dean's forehead and closed his eyes. He hummed in disturbed thought.

"This coma is unnatural," the angel stated. He turned to face Sam. "Did anything happen recently?"

"Just a hunt," Sam replied. He grew quiet. "A hunt where...Dean was cursed."

"You were hunting witches?" Castiel guessed.

Sam nodded. "We thought the curse backfired because nothing happened," he explained. He looked at his brother. "Apparently something did happen."

"I can't lift the curse," Castiel told him. "I had hoped that I would at least be able to wake Dean up. But, this must take its course."

Sam nodded again. "I understand," he said.

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help," Castiel apologized. "I know you were looking for a way to heal Dean."

"There's nothing much you can do against a curse," Sam replied. "You tried your best."

Castiel removed his hand from Dean's forehead. When Sam looked up again, the angel was gone. The youngest Winchester turned back to his brother.

"Come on, Dean," Sam whispered. "You have to beat this. I can't do this job without you." He swallowed thickly. "You still need to find the jerks who stole the Impala, remember?"

At the mention of the Impala, the heart monitor skipped. Dean made a strange choking sound and he began to urge. Sam shot to his feet. Dean took a deep, choking, raspy breath. He began to cough and urge against the tube that was still in his throat.

"Help! I need help!" Sam called, rushing to the door.

Nurses came running into the room. Sam watched anxiously as they extracted the life support tube from his brother's throat. With the tube removed, Dean started breathing easier. After checking his vitals and seeing that he was doing okay, the nurses left the room to report to the doctor. Sam sat back down in the chair beside the bed.

"Dean, what the hell happened?" he asked in a low voice.

Dean looked around in stunned silence. "How'd I get here?"

"You had a seizure...or at least I thought you did," Sam explained. "I called for an ambulance. I didn't know what else to do."

Dean rubbed his chest. "How'd I snap out of it?" he asked.

Sam shrugged. "Ya got me," he replied. "I just said you had to find out who stole the Impala and that seemed to bring you back."

"I was dreaming," Dean said softly.

"About what?"

"The car. Before I collapsed," Dean answered. "I was dreaming about her. Then it felt as though my insides started to boil."

Sam frowned in thought. "Do you think it could have something to do with the witch's curse?" he asked.

Dean shrugged. "Whatever it was, it has something to do with the car," he said.

Sam nodded. "When the doctor clears you, we'll start the search again. Maybe we'll be able to pick up the trail again."

Dean continued to rub his chest. "Yeah," he agreed.

Sam patted his shoulder. "We'll find her, Dean," he assured his brother. "She's out there, somewhere."

* * *

"The curse was that you would see the thing you cherished most disappear," Sam said.

Dean lay on the bed, eyes locked on the ceiling. They were back in the motel room going over what had happened earlier. Sam watched his brother like a hawk, always on the look out for any more signs of the curse flaring up. Dean kept rubbing his chest, right above his heart. Though the tests the doctor ran before discharging him said that there was nothing wrong with his heart, Dean felt like something was stabbing him. He had a constant, throbbing pain radiating from his heart. He knew it had something to do with the curse, he just didn't know what it was.

"It was something like that," Dean replied, rubbing his eyes. "And then the car disappeared."

"Makes sense," Sam commented. "You love that car."

Dean sighed heavily and let his hand fall to his chest. "What's wrong with me, Sammy?" he asked. "Those witches never finished their spell."

"Maybe they did and made it seem like they didn't," Sam mused.

Dean grunted as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Anything on the infoweb?" he asked.

Sam glanced at his laptop briefly. "No suspicious deaths," he reported. "It looks like they went underground."

"They better stay there if they want to keep their heads," Dean grumbled, pushing a fist to his chest.

He felt like he had constant heartburn. He gasped as it grew worse. Sam was immediately on his feet.

"Dean? You okay?"

Dean let out a choked gasp. The burning suddenly stopped. A second later, there was a knock on the door. Sam moved to get it, but Dean stopped him. Pushing himself up off the bed, Dean made his way over to the door. He looked through the peep hole and frowned. Opening the door, he found a beautiful young woman, possibly in her early twenties, with long, wavy jet black hair, smoky grey eyes and dressed in long flowing black pants and a black halter top standing outside. She carried four large green duffle bags in each hand.

"Oh, thank goodness," she gasped. "I thought I was going to go mad. But, I found you."

"Can I help you?" Dean asked.

The woman panted for breath, looking at him with those hypnotizing grey eyes. "You're not going to help a girl out? These things are heavy," she whined.

"Who are you?" Dean questioned.

"You don't..." Realization dawned on her. "Oh. Right. You don't...of course you don't know me. Not in this form, at least."

"Lady, who are you?" Dean demanded.

"Dean," she gasped. "It's me. I'm Baby."

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : see chapter one

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Dean felt his world cave in on him. It wasn't possible. There was no way this was the Impala. But, she called herself Baby. There was only one girl he ever called Baby and that was the Impala. The girl standing in front of him knew his pet name for his car, she even wore the dreamcatcher that had been hanging in the trunk around her neck. His eyes fell on the Chevy logo that was tattooed on the left side of her collarbone. The girl cleared her throat, breaking Dean out of his thoughts.

"I don't mean to interrupt your thoughts, Dean, but these duffels are really, super extra heavy," she said. "So...can you give a girl a hand?"

"Uh...yeah. Sam!" Dean yelled.

Sam appeared in the doorway. "Who's she?" he asked.

"Don't ask," Dean said promptly. "Take the other two duffels, would ya?"

He reached out and took the two duffel bags in the girl's right hand, grunting as his arms were jerked downward from the weight of the bags. His eyes widened. What the hell were in the bags? And, how the hell could a scrawny kid like her carry around four of them? Sam seemed to have just as hard a time with his burden as Dean had. The girl sighed in relief as she was led inside the room. She looked around, eyes wide with wonder.

"So, this is what inside a motel is like," she breathed in awe. "I've always wanted to see the inside of one of these rooms."

Sam grunted as he dropped the bags on the floor by the table. He leaned over to Dean.

"Who the hell is she?" he whispered.

Dean deposited the bags he was carrying and walked away, shrinking into a corner by the window. The girl walked up to Sam, smiled and held out a delicate hand.

"Hi, Sammy," she said. "It's me. Baby."

Sam's jaw dropped in shock. He tried to form words, but his mouth wouldn't work. He probably looked like some weird fish fighting to breathe above water. All he could do was take her hand and shake it.

"Wow," the girl sighed, releasing Sam's hand. "How freaky is this? I mean...how often do you get to talk to your car?"

Sam shook his head in disbelief. "You're the..."

"Uh huh," the girl replied, nodding.

"The actual..."

"Yep," the girl answered with a cheery grin.

Sam frowned in confusion, turning to his brother. "Dean?"

Dean had his face buried in his hands, his back turned to the room. It was all he could do to keep himself from completely losing it. His car was here. Yet, it wasn't a car anymore. She was a flesh and blood person standing right behind him. He had sometimes wondered what the Impala would look like as a human, but he had never pictured her like this. He had always pictured a kind-hearted, loving grandmother type.

 _I knew my car was hot, but...damn, my car is hot,_ Dean couldn't help thinking.

"Dean? Sweetie? You okay?" the girl asked, walking up and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Dean turned to face her, nodding and giving her a tight smile. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just...uh..."

"I totally understand," the girl said. "It was way freaky when I suddenly found myself like this. I mean...one minute I'm a car, the next I'm a human waking up in some strange, dark alley with heaven knows how many weapons scattered around me."

"When did you transform?" Sam asked.

The girl thought for a moment. "Last night, sometime. It was late, and I didn't have a watch. Which is funny because cars usually carry clocks," she said.

Dean turned to the girl. "Roughly what time?" he asked.

"Uh," the girl huffed. "I'd say...two o'clock?" she estimated.

The brothers looked at each other. "The same time you seized," Sam said.

The girl looked between the brothers. "Wait, what? Who seized?" she asked worryingly. "Are my boys okay?"

"Now? We're peachy," Dean told her. "Two o'clock last night however...not so much."

"Who do I have to run over?" the girl asked.

Sam chuckled lightly. "No, no. No one's getting run over. It's just, at the same time you took on this form, Dean ended up in the hospital," he explained.

The girl looked horrified. She turned to Dean with wide, scared eyes. "You got hurt because of me?" she whispered in horror.

"We don't know what happened," Dean confessed. "It was like every time I thought about you, something strange would happen. Like last night, I was dreaming about you...the car version of you...and I seized. And then, Sam mentioned you at the hospital and I snapped out of whatever coma I had fallen into."

The girl gasped. "We must be connected, somehow," she said. "Because when I disappeared from that house, all I could think about was you and Sam and worrying that you two wouldn't make it out, and then the next thing I know...poof. Human."

"Instant human. Just add Dean," Sam joked.

Dean glared at his brother, who merely shrugged. The girl giggled, sending chills down Dean's spine. He never expected the Impala to be so bubbly.

"I like that," the girl said. "That was funny."

"So, um...what do we call you?" Sam asked.

The girl grew quiet as she thought. "Well, Dean's always ever called me Baby," she replied.

Sam gave an awkward smile. "That's all fine and good for Dean, but it would be strange for me to call you that," he explained. "Since you're Dean's...car, not mine."

"Right," the girl agreed, nodding. "Okay, well, uh...Impala, I guess?"

"Or Pala," Dean suggested.

The girl giggled and ruffled his hair. "You're so smart, Dean," she said. "I love it."

A smirk began playing at the corners of Sam's mouth. Dean gave him a very unamused glare. Sam shrugged again, enjoying his brother's discomfort. It didn't surprise Sam that Pala would favor Dean over him; she was Dean's car, after all. There was a special bond between a boy and his car. However, Sam had expected her to be more of a grandmother than a twenty-something year old.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," Pala apologized. "But, they thought it would be more funny to drop me two towns over."

"You woke up two towns over?" Sam asked in astonishment. "How did you get here so fast?"

Pala looked at him. "I ran," she answered simply.

Dean looked from her to the four duffel bags. "Carrying those?"

"I carried all those weapons plus you two," Pala pointed out. "And you boys aren't the lightest feathers to carry around."

Dean felt his face begin to burn with embarrassment. His expression was mirrored on Sam's face.

"Added on top of that, Bobby and that cutie angel, Castiel," Pala continued. "Oh! And let's not forget your..." She cleared her throat. "Countless flings."

Sam frowned. "I didn't have any flings," he said.

"Not you, Sammy. Mr. I Couldn't Keep It In My Pants over there," Pala replied, nodding towards Dean.

Sam looked at his brother with interest. Dean's embarrassment turned to horror.

"How many?" Sam wanted to know.

Pala opened her mouth to speak, but Dean cut her off.

"I'm sure it's a fascinating story," he said. "But, running all that way carrying four duffels full of weapons, I'm sure you must be tired."

Pala shook her head. "No, not really," she replied. She faced Sam. "Anyway, there was this one girl, Stephanie-"

"I'm sure Sam doesn't want to hear about her," Dean cut in again.

Pala smacked him up the back of his head. "Interrupt me again and I'll give you a proper spanking," she threatened.

Sam looked on in surprise and amusement. Maybe there was some grandmother in her, after all. Pala turned back to Sam as Dean rubbed his head.

"Sorry," she sighed. "There was this girl, Stephanie. Nice girl, but a bit of a doorknob. The elevator didn't go all the way to the top floor. What Dean saw in her, I don't know. Anyway, long story short, he got her in my backseat. His only saving grace is that he put down a blanket."

Sam burst out into a fit of laughter. Dean buried his face in his hand.

"There was also Ginny and Margie and Stevie," Pala said.

"Pala, I'm begging you," Dean groaned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I embarrassing you?" Pala asked innocently. "I'm sorry. I just thought you told Sammy everything."

"Apparently, not," Sam replied, enjoying the situation more and more.

"This all happened before he came to get you in California," Pala explained. "So, it's all water under the bridge." Her smile dropped. "Ooo. Speaking of bridges."

She walked over to Sam and smacked him in the back of head.

"Ow. What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"That's for driving me into that house on your first hunt back with Dean," Pala said. "You almost dented my bumper crashing through the front door."

"It was the only way to kill the ghost," Sam defended.

"It hurt," Pala told him. She was cut off when she felt a strange sensation vibrate through her stomach. "That was weird," she commented.

"What?" Dean asked.

Pala put her hands on her stomach. "That's new. Never felt that before."

"Are you hungry?" Sam asked.

"Well, I did burn the last bit of gas that was left in my tank getting here," Pala replied.

"What do you want to eat?" Dean questioned.

Pala looked at him. "What you always give me," she answered.

"No, no. You're human, now," Sam explained. "So, your body is going to need a different type of fuel. You can't go to the gas station and fill up on gasoline."

Pala thought for a moment. "I guess that would look a little strange," she agreed.

"Is there anything you've wanted to try?" Dean asked.

Pala's eyes lit up. "A burger," she said. "A double bacon cheeseburger. You're always talking about them, so they must be good."

Dean nodded. "Late night burger run it is," he said.

Out of habit, he started looking for the keys, until he remembered that his car was standing right in front of him. He turned to see Pala and Sam smiling at him.

"Shut up," Dean grumbled, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door.

Pala giggled as she followed Dean out the door. Sam grabbed the room key and left behind Dean and Pala. He locked up and hurried to catch up with them. He didn't know what he had been expecting while on this hunt, but one thing was for sure: He hadn't been expecting this.

* * *

Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	5. Chapter 5

Pala hummed in delight as she savored the juicy burger. Sam sipped on a glass of water while Dean worked on a beer. They both watched Pala with curious amusement. More and more she demonstrated that she truly was Dean's baby. She favored Dean over Sam, though she didn't exclude Sam from anything. When she referred to both of them she always called them her boys. But, she liked the same food Dean did, and Sam had to wonder if there was anything else of his brother's that she liked. Sam tapped his fingers against the glass.

"So, Pala," he began. "What's your favorite music?"

Pala took another bite of the burger, thinking. She shrugged. "Whatever Dean likes," she finally answered.

"There must be something other than Dean's music that you like," Sam said.

Pala looked at him. "All I've heard is classic rock," she reminded him. "Other than the times you've had me."

Sam nodded. He knew that was what she was going to say. Pala held up a finger.

"However," she said as she swallowed her food. "Some of the more current music isn't all that bad."

"Any favorites?" Dean asked, curious.

Pala thought for a moment. "I heard another car playing an all male band. What was their name?" She closed her eyes and snapped her fingers. "Backstreet Boys," she said.

"Oh, god," Dean groaned, hanging his head. "My baby is into boy bands."

"What?" Pala asked. "Their music is catchy."

"Yeah, like the flu," Dean grumbled.

Pala shrugged. "I like them," she stated.

Sam couldn't help but grin. He hid his smirk behind his glass. His smile slowly faded as something else came to him. He lowered the glass to the table.

"There's something I don't get," Sam said.

"Which is?" Pala asked.

"You...your car form...was built in 1967. Nowadays, you're considered a classic car," Sam started. "Because of that, I always pictured you to be...older. Like a grandmother type."

Pala nodded. "I totally get that," she said. "But, you have to remember, I had a semi slam into me. And because of that I was rebuilt. New parts and all that. So, I guess you could say I had a mechanical facelift."

Sam nodded as he thought about it. "In some ways it reduced your age," he added.

"Exactly," Pala agreed. "And I have to thank you two for keeping me in tip top shape over these last few years."

"You're very welcome, baby," Dean said.

Sam smirked again and took another sip of water. "Why don't you just kiss and get it over with?" he asked.

"Shut up," Dean said.

Pala chuckled as she finished her burger. Dean downed the rest of his beer and paid for the meal and drinks. The trio left the diner and headed back to the motel. With all the walking they had been doing, Dean could feel his legs begin to ache. He looked around as they walked. He noticed a park with a walking trail near the motel.

"Hey, Sam, you head back. I want to talk to Pala alone for a moment," Dean said.

Sam nodded. "Okay. Be safe."

The youngest Winchester walked the rest of the way to the motel as Dean and Pala headed for the park. Pala kept close to Dean's side as they walked.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"What else do you remember?" Dean asked as they walked through the park.

Pala smiled. "Where do I begin?" she said. "The angel civil war? Sam throwing himself into the Cage and coming back without his soul? I'm happy you said no to Michael. He was a jerk."

Dean chuckled. "That he was," he agreed.

"And..."

Pala trailed off, suddenly growing very quiet. Dean looked down at her and saw that her eyes were wet with tears. He became concerned.

"What is it?" he asked.

Pala swallowed thickly. "I remember the night you went to Hell," she whispered. "I could hear your screams coming from the house. You were being torn apart and I could do nothing but sit in the driveway..." She wiped tears from her eyes as her breath hitched. "I could do nothing but sit in the driveway and let you die."

Dean felt his heart sink. "Pala, I..."

"I know why you did it, Dean. Sold your soul. You did it to save Sam. That's what you two do. You look out for each other." Pala wiped more tears from her eyes, but that just seemed to make them fall more freely. "But, what about me? How could you just leave me behind? I carried your body to your grave site. You were mine, and you were dead. You were mine."

Pala stopped walking as she broke down. Dean pulled her into a tight hug. She buried her face in his chest, gripping his shirt like a lifeline. Dean held her tight, afraid to let her go. He always called her his baby, but he only ever thought of her as a car. Cars couldn't feel, couldn't think. But, now he knew that wasn't true.

"You were mine. And they took you from me," Pala sobbed.

"Pala, I am so, so sorry," Dean whispered.

"I wish I could have stopped you," Pala confessed quietly. "Stopped you from making that deal. But, that would have been selfish. You wanted to save Sam." She took a deep breath. "And, I would have done the same thing...for either of you. You're my boys. I'd do anything for you two. But, it was still hard...watching Sam and Bobby bury you and knowing that I'd never see you again."

"I'm sorry, baby," Dean apologized. "I didn't think I'd be affecting you, too."

Pala took a shaky breath. "I was a car," she said. "An object. I didn't feel, at least not in the same way humans feel."

"Still," Dean muttered.

Pala sighed. "It all worked out in the end," she said. "I have my boys back. I have you back. I'm happy."

Dean kissed the top of her head. She smelled like the car polish he used the last time he could afford to polish the car. She had that new car smell. They just stood there, wrapped in each other's arms. A boy and his car. Dean didn't think his life could get much weirder. From going to hell to being named an archangel's vessel, Dean thought the weirdness was behind him. Apparently not. Never in a million years did he think this was possible.

"This is weird," Pala commented.

"What is?" Dean asked.

"You're hugging your car," Pala pointed out. She looked up at him. "You took this a lot better than I thought you would."

"I've gotten used to expecting the unexpected," Dean replied.

Pala hummed in thought. "I suppose so."

Dean checked his watch. "We should probably get back to the motel. It's getting late."

They started back towards the motel. Pala wrapped her arms around Dean's arm and leaned against him, placing her head on his shoulder. When they walked through the door of the room, Sam was sitting at the table in front of his laptop. He had a look of concentration on his face. Dean knew that look.

"Is it them?" he asked immediately.

"Looks like it," Sam replied.

Pala's eyes lit up with excitement. "We're going on a hunt?" she asked hopefully.

Sam turned to Dean, a questioning look in his eyes. Dean suspected what he wanted to ask. Was it safe to have Pala come with them on a hunt? Especially with the witch's curse still in effect. However, Dean knew that she would tag along no matter what they did.

"Can I go, Dean? Please?" Pala begged. "I've always been there with you on your hunts."

Dean sighed. "Okay," he answered.

Pala gasped in delight and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she squealed.

Dean patted her back. "No problem," he said.

Although, the more he thought about it, the more he began to regret his decision. Hunting was a dangerous job, so many things could go wrong. And if Pala got hurt, Dean wasn't sure if he would be able to forgive himself.

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** : Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. Your support means the worlds to me and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing associated with Supernatural, nor do I own the song lyrics. They both belong to their respective owners.

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Dean sat behind the wheel of a sleek black Chevy Impala. Unfortunately, it wasn't his Impala. It was too small, too technical. What did he need with heated seats, anyway? Or satellite radio, for that matter? However, he hadn't picked the car out, Pala had. Dean still didn't know how she had managed to talk her way into getting the rental car. Maybe it had something to do with her referring to the car as one of her grandchildren. Dean figured she had freaked the poor service guy out so much he just let them take it, telling them to just bring the car back in one piece and he wouldn't charge them.

 _I guess he just wanted to shut her up,_ Dean thought to himself.

However, he hated this car. But, Sam and Pala seemed to like it. Pala was currently sitting in the back seat bouncing to a song that was playing on the radio. Dean watched her in the rear view mirror. Her long black hair flew around her head as she danced. He couldn't help but smile. Sam sighed as he reclined his seat, stretching his back. He closed his eyes and smiled contentedly.

Dean put a hand over his mouth to hide a yawn. He had been driving for a while and it was still late in the night. The only good thing was that they were almost to their destination. They were two hours out and Sam was already snoring in the passenger's seat. The only one who seemed to still have some energy was Pala. She was still full of life with no signs of getting tired. Dean guessed it had something to do with her endurance as a car. She was used to being on the move for eight hours or more at a time. However, he knew it was only a matter of time before that caught up to her, and when she eventually crashed, she would crash hard.

The song ended and another one started playing. Pala gasped in surprise. She leaned forward in her seat.

"Turn it up. I love this song," she said.

Dean groaned. "This song has been on ten times in the last hour," he told her.

"I love this song," Pala repeated. "Turn it up, please."

Dean sighed as he turned up the radio. Lady Gaga blasted through the enclosed space. To make things worse, Pala started singing along. It wasn't so much Pala's singing that grated on his nerves, it was the song she was singing.

"I live for the applause, applause, applause. I live for the applause-plause. Live for the applause-plause," Pala sang.

 _Cas, if you can hear me, please put me out of my misery,_ Dean silently begged.

Pala tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, Dean, sing with me," she said.

"I think I'll pass," Dean told her.

"Why? It's a good song," Pala said.

"I'm not one for Lady Gaga," Dean replied.

Pala sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. "Man, you need to update your music," she commented.

Dean chuckled to himself. Sam had told him the same thing when they started hunting together again. For the next two hours, Dean had to endure more modern hits. Finally, he was driving through Sommerville, Illinois. Dean tapped Sam on the shoulder, causing his brother to jump. The youngest brother looked around, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"We're here," Dean told him. "What did you want to do?"

Sam fixed his seat and took out his tablet. He opened up the police reports. "There's a missing persons case. The Harvey's haven't been seen for a few days. Kids never showed up for school and parents never showed up to work." It was then he noticed what was playing on the radio. "You're listening to Selena Gomez?" he asked, looking at his brother.

From the back seat, Pala giggled. Dean drove through town until he came to the neighbourhood listed in the missing persons case. The street was dark. Dean pulled up to the house of the missing family.

"You'd think this would be the first place police would check," he commented when he didn't see any yellow tape.

"Maybe the witches planted false information," Pala suggested.

"Maybe," Sam said.

Pala took off her seat belt and sat further up in the seat. "So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"Go in, have a look around, if there are any witches to be seen, gank them," Dean explained. "But, first." He turned in his seat, holding out his hand. "Give me your hand."

Curious, Pala gave Dean her hand, only to have him slap handcuffs on her and lock her wrist to the headrest of the driver's seat.

"What are you doing?" Pala cried.

"You're staying here," Dean told her.

"Why?" Pala demanded.

"We don't know what's in there and you don't know how to work a gun," Dean explained. "This is for your own good."

"No, please. Dean! Don't do this to me!" Pala pleaded as the brothers climbed out of the car and got their weapons from the trunk. "You always do this! You always leave me behind! Dean! Sam! DEAN!"

The siblings walked up to the front door and took a look around. All the lights were off, there didn't seem to be any movement inside. Sam knelt down and picked the lock while Dean kept an eye out. With the door open, the brothers made their way inside. Dean felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Pala in the car. But, on top of her not knowing how to handle a gun, he didn't want to know what would happen if something happened to her. The last time something happened to her, he had a massive seizure. He didn't want to know what was in store if something more serious were to occur.

The Winchesters searched the house, but didn't come across anyone. Finally, they headed down into the basement. They rounded the corner into the family room and stopped short. Dean put a hand to his nose from the putrid stench. All four family members were sitting on the couch, dead and starting to decompose. Dean began to urge. That was one smell he would never get used too.

Sam went over to investigate. The family looked like they had been cursed. It looked like all the moisture in their bodies had been evaporated at an extremely fast rate. He looked down and noticed something sticking out from the bottom of the couch. He knelt down and pulled the object out. Dean felt his blood boil when Sam held up a hex bag.

"They were here," Sam said.

"But, clearly gone, now," Dean noted. "Poor family."

Sam walked over to his brother's side. "What now?" he asked.

"We check into a hotel and get some sleep," Dean replied. "We'll pick up the hunt in the morning."

They left the house and walked back to the car. Pala didn't say anything when they climbed into the car. Dean started the car and drove off to find a hotel. When they found a decently priced hotel, they checked in and brought their bags to the room. Pala slumped down in a chair at the small table as Dean and Sam got settled in. A few minutes later, someone came to give them a cot.

Pala continued to sit quietly at the table, ignoring anything the brothers said to her. Dean knew she was pissed at him for leaving her behind. But, it had been for her own good. He pulled on his sweat pants and climbed under the blankets of the cot while Sam took one of the two beds. The room went dark when Sam turned off the light, the only light coming from the moon that filtered in through the window. Pala looked over her shoulder at the brothers then looked at the empty bed. It seemed so inviting in its silent glory.

Being as quiet as she could, Pala stood up and went over to the bed, taking off her sandals and crawling underneath the covers. She was surprised at how soft the mattress was. It hugged her body like a warm embrace. Pala closed her eyes, burying herself underneath the blankets. All those years of running around the States finally caught up to her and she felt into a deep, almost comatose, sleep.

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Reviews are welcome, flames are not


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